Virgin Music Group has officially completed its acquisition of Downtown Music Holdings, and as part of the deal has appointed Downtown’s CEO Pieter van Rijn as chief operating officer of VMG. The move reshapes the independent music‑services landscape and advances VMG’s goal of building a global, end‑to‑end platform for artists, labels and rights holders.
Based in Amsterdam, van Rijn will report to co‑CEOs Nat Pastor and JT Myers and oversee worldwide operations, technology, product development and strategic integration across the combined companies.
Related
Van Rijn’s career has spanned leadership roles across distribution, publishing administration, neighboring rights and sync. As former CEO of FUGA, he oversaw major expansion, growing the company into a full‑service label‑services platform operating across more than 50 countries.
The deal closes one week after the European Commission approved VMG and Universal Music’s $775 million acquisition of Downtown following a two‑phase competition review. Regulators focused heavily on data‑access risks surrounding Curve Royalty Systems, Downtown’s rights‑management and accounting platform that holds sensitive information for rival labels. To receive approval, UMG agreed to divest Curve entirely, with Curve operating independently until the sale is complete. Beyond Curve, the commission determined that the merger would not significantly reduce competition given the number of alternative service providers and moderate combined market share.
Virgin/UMG first announced plans to acquire Downtown in late 2024, aiming to unify Downtown’s multi-disciplined services — including FUGA, CD Baby, Songtrust and Downtown Artist & Label Services — with VMG’s global distribution, neighboring rights, sync and marketing capabilities. Downtown, founded in 2007 by Justin Kalifowitz, serves more than 5,000 clients and over four million creators worldwide.
The acquisition also marks the exit of Kalifowitz, who confirmed his departure in a public letter reflecting on nearly two decades at the helm. Kalifowitz said Downtown was built during a time when the industry was in “freefall,” but grew by betting on “more music, more entrepreneurs, more global participation.” He emphasized that Downtown’s legacy is not its deals or catalog, but its people, writing: “Service beats control. Infrastructure beats trend‑chasing. Culture beats hierarchy.” Kalifowitz added that he steps away “proud of what we’ve built” and expressed confidence in van Rijn and the Virgin leadership: “Companies evolve. Markets shift. Strong cultures endure.”
In addition, Downtown’s former chairman Andrew Bergman will shift into a senior advisory role.
Executives from both companies framed the acquisition as a long‑term investment in the independent sector. Pastor called van Rijn’s appointment proof of VMG’s commitment to “thoughtfully and strategically” merging the organizations. Van Rijn emphasized that the “combination enhances the choice, service and global reach available to the independent community,” also pledging that they’ll “strengthen what makes both companies special and deliver even greater value to the entrepreneurs we serve.” Myers credited Downtown’s leadership for building an “organization defined by its powerful belief in independent creators.”
